America's national laboratories are leading a consortium to move advanced battery storage technologies from the lab into domestic manufacturing. Dubbed the Battery Manufacturing Accelerator, or BattMan (no, really), the initiative aims to bring together a bunch of national laboratories, universities, and companies to overcome barriers in scaling up new battery technologies. Novel battery storage solutions are needed for applications in the electric grid, datacenters, and electric vehicles, as electrification gradually extends across industry. Batteries have a far lower energy density than fuels such as petroleum, so the hunt for better materials never stops. Researchers also want to improve on the safety of flammable lithium-ion cells, cut production costs, speed up charging, and reduce reliance on scarce raw materials. "The advances we make today in battery manufacturing technology will determine America's energy security and economic competitiveness for decades to come,” said Audrey Robertson, assistant secretary of Energy at the Department of Energy (DoE), which is overseeing the program. Researchers continue to develop new battery materials and chemistries, yet many promising technologies face obstacles on the way from the laboratory to commercial production. According to the DoE, BattMan will tackle that problem by combining super intelligence - known outside of the Trump administration as AI - with advanced manufacturing into a coordinated, data-driven innovation ecosystem. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory leads the consortium, along with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory and National Laboratory of the Rockies. Academic partners include the University of Washington, Binghamton University, University of Alabama, Arizona State University, and University of Michigan-Dearborn. The accelerator is also building ties with battery and materials manufacturers, and hopes to sidestep critical minerals supply problems by finding battery materials among more abundant, domestically sourced elements. ORNL is contributing its Battery Manufacturing Facility (BMF) R&D center and plans a smart test bed with advanced sensing, real-time monitoring, and data analysis to trial both wet and dry electrode manufacturing. BattMan will also introduce autonomous pilot lines that combine sensing, process monitoring and intelligent control systems to improve product quality and reduce variability in the manufacturing process. The goal is an AI-based manufacturing platform that spots production irregularities as they occur and adjusts parameters on its own to prevent defects. “The BattMan Accelerator is exactly the kind of coordinated national effort that turns scientific breakthroughs into economic and energy security advantages,” claimed distinguished R&D staff member Chins Chinnasamy, the consortium lead for ORNL. Organizations interested in becoming part of BattMan can visit the program website to learn more. ®

A major US federal agency has repeatedly left sensitive information in its Google Drive accessible to employees and contractors who had no legitimate business need to see it, and auditors aren’t happy. The General Services Administration (GSA), which handles contracting, procurement, property management, and other elements of basic operations for federal agencies, has faced repeated findings of inadequate protection for controlled unclassified information (CUI) since at least 2014, according to a report from the agency’s Office of Inspector General. Again. Controlled unclassified information, in the US federal government's parlance, is information that isn't classified but requires protection or restrictions on its distribution under applicable laws, regulations, or government-wide policies. Access is generally limited to individuals with a legitimate government need to know. According to the OIG report, that can include things like physical security info for government buildings, personally identifiable information (PII) of government employees, and proprietary business information, all of which the GSA has left exposed. According to the report published this week, employees and contractors have approximately 2.5 million documents stored in GSA's Google Drive. “During a limited search of GSA’s Google Drive, we found 116 files containing CUI that were improperly shared with all GSA users,” the report notes. That’s a limited search, mind you, and the OIG has plenty of reason to believe there’s more than just that sitting open for anyone with access to the GSA’s Google Drive instance to sneak a look at. The OIG said that GSA is failing to properly manage the third-party tool it has in place to prevent data loss and detect CUI exposures, with annual reviews of search terms incomplete or undocumented, many relevant search terms not implemented, and a failure to enable an available optical character recognition feature that could help detect CUI in scanned documents. Additionally, the GSA was apparently “unaware of the tool’s file size limitation of 15 megabytes,” meaning that even if the GSA was properly using that tool, some large files would still be skipped. “We also found that GSA lacks: (1) an approval process for properly sharing sensitive information and (2) a standard naming convention that could more effectively prevent exposures of CUI in GSA’s Google Drive,” the OIG added. As for what was exposed … it’s not great. According to the audit, site plans for buildings in Washington, DC were part of the improperly access-controlled files, with data that includes entrances and screening techniques, as well as the location of sensitive areas, like gun lockers. A progressive collapse analysis that "describes the building’s collapse vulnerabilities, defense vulnerabilities, and critical failure locations” was also exposed. PII of government individuals was also exposed, including social security numbers, addresses, dates of birth, and contact information. Proprietary business information was also exposed, “including proprietary research and vendor proposals with technical and pricing information.” This might not have been publicly accessible, but it’s still a shocking lapse of data control, especially given that contractors with access to the GSA’s Google Drive could potentially view proprietary information belonging to competing vendors, giving them an unfair advantage if they used it. To make matters worse, this isn’t the first time the GSA has been dinged by its own inspector general for such lousy data protection practices. According to the report, it was 2014 when the OIG first spotted such bad habits. “In August 2014, we first reported that GSA did not protect sensitive information on child care centers, courthouses, water sources, building automation systems, and security and fire alarm systems in its Google cloud computing environment,” the OIG noted. “We issued additional reports citing concerns regarding GSA’s ability to protect sensitive information in its Google environment between 2015 and 2017.” Auditors flagged another set of improperly shared Google Drive files in April 2025. While the GSA’s chief information officer agreed with the auditors’ seven recommendations to fix the problems, the report doesn't establish whether the corrective work has been completed. We reached out to the GSA and the OIG’s office for an update, but didn’t hear back from either. ®

Den Haag was 26 en 27 oktober het internationale middelpunt voor Data Amplified. Op dit internationale evenement kreeg onder andere Standard Business Reporting (SBR) het podium om de Nederlandse standaard voor de digitale uitwisseling van bedrijfsrapportages internationaal op de kaart te zetten.

Den Haag 26 en 27 oktober het internationale middelpunt voor Data Amplified. Op dit internationale evenement kreeg onder andere Standard Business Reporting (SBR) het podium om de Nederlandse standaard voor de digitale uitwisseling van bedrijfsrapportages internationaal op de kaart te zetten.

As one of the world’s leading forensic anthropologists, Dame Sue Black has acted as an expert witness in a myriad of high-profile criminal cases. Her work has taken her from the lab to active war zones and the aftermath of natural disasters to identify victims’ bodies. Speaking to Ian Sample, the professor explains why standing up in front of a judge and jury has been one of the more terrifying parts of her career, the reputational risk of presenting evidence in court and what the future of forensic science could look like

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​Fronted by Mark Sandman​,​ the group brought enigmatic, elegant rock to post-grunge America. As lost demos surface, those closest to Sandman remember a man who grabbed on to life’s joys

It’s early 1998, and at Fort Apache recording studio in Massachusetts, Mark Sandman, the suave frontman of Morphine, is nearing breaking point. Morphine’s four enigmatic and blackly humorous albums have won critical acclaim and, lately, unexpected commercial success considering their uncompromising creative vision. After the excesses of grunge, Sandman considered their idiosyncratic blend of sophisticated storytelling, prowling slide-bass and Dana Colley’s atmospheric saxophone a kind of “palate cleanser”.

In 1997 Morphine had signed to DreamWorks Records, founded by industry bigwigs David Geffen and Mo Ostin. Now, working on Morphine’s first LP for his new paymasters – a batch of songs finally seeing release almost three decades later – Sandman was consumed by doubt over their direction. “For the first time, Morphine were trying to please someone other than just ourselves,” remembers Colley.

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Football Daily isn’t suggesting standards at Chelsea have slipped in recent years, but the quality of their players who miss penalties in shootouts against Liverpool certainly appears to be on the slide. Before last night, footballing royalty such as Arjen Robben, Geremi, Tammy Abraham, César Azpilicueta, Mason Mount and even goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga had all missed from the spot in four consecutive post-match deciders against Liverpool across 19 years and four different competitions. On Wednesday, a flame-haired Argentinian irritant, a striker we’d never previously heard of before yesterday and a defensive liability whose boots increasingly look to have been welded on to the wrong feet each added their names to the roll of shame. Valentín Barco, Emanuel Emegha and Wesley Fofana, take a collective bow.

The reaction when Fleetwood made the final penalty was the best example I’ve ever seen of pandemonium! – Jim Geissman

A few random thoughts from one of the Wednesday fans who saw Harry Kane’s first goal at Orient (Tuesday’s Football Daily). Main after match conversation topics were how we’d shipped four goals in the second half, our new signing Gary Madine, and those people on the balconies of the new flats who watched the game for free. Without cameras I’d have no recall of Harry Kane’s goal but funnily enough I do genuinely remember Dean Cox having a very good game. We’ve talked about it loads since, but I don’t think any of us at the time thought Kane stood out in that game. Which just goes to show. A thoroughly deserved award for a career of consistent & often under-appreciated excellence. And what a superb motto: “Work in silence. Let success be your voice” – Alan.

This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions. 

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The current ban on diesel exports is due to expire on Oct. 31.

The proposed record defense spending comes alongside a new wave of tax hikes designed to fund the rising costs of the war in Ukraine.

Een man laat op zondagochtend 30 augustus rond 04:15 uur een explosief afgaan bij een portiek aan de Carry van Bruggensingel in Rotterdam-Zevenkamp. De knal veroorzaakt flinke schade aan het gebouw. De verdachte staat op camerabeelden en wordt gezocht door de politie.

Een ouder echtpaar uit Hilversum is door bankhelpdeskfraude bijna 70.000 euro kwijtgeraakt. Oplichters bellen de slachtoffers dagenlang en weten hun bankpassen en creditcard in handen te krijgen. Met de gestolen passen worden onder meer bij een juwelier in Rotterdam-Zuid grote bedragen uitgegeven. De politie is op zoek naar drie verdachten die vermoedelijk met de passen hebben betaald of geld hebben opgenomen.

Een man uit Brielle is bijna 8.000 euro kwijtgeraakt door een babbeltruc. Oplichters weten hem ervan te overtuigen zijn bankpassen en pincodes af te geven. Kort daarna wordt zijn rekening geplunderd. De politie zoekt een verdachte die tijdens het pinnen probeert een beveiligingscamera af te schermen.

Een 22-jarige Rotterdammer wordt in de nacht van vrijdag 4 op zaterdag 5 september beschoten in een steeg in Rotterdam-Zuid. De man raakt gewond aan zijn been en heeft nog altijd last van zijn verwondingen. De politie zoekt getuigen van het schietincident aan de Zinkerstraat.

4 april 2023: de sterfdatum van de wereldberoemde gorilla Bokito. Voor Diergaarde Blijdorp in Rotterdam is het een dag van rouw, maar voor taxidermisten uit heel Nederland is het ook een dag van nieuwsgierigheid. Want wat gaat er gebeuren met het lichaam van de mensaap? “Ik stond meteen in de rij.”

Slashdot reader fjo3 shares an article from Wired: The internet must be put out of its misery. Any rational observer can admit that the current iteration of the web -- and the social fabric woven there -- is not what they signed up for. Symptoms of advanced cultural decay can no longer be ignored. This thing is eating itself. Giants including Meta and Google have been forced to settle massive consumer lawsuits brought over privacy violations and mental health harms allegedly caused by the addictive mechanisms of their platforms. Schools are banning smartphones as multiple countries institute social media restrictions for under-16s. Parents are in a panic about their kids aspiring to careers as social media celebrities, losing themselves in a vast ecosystem of online casinos, or joining extremist movements. Generative AI, briefly considered an amusing novelty, is now a turbocharged slop engine for the web, filling feeds and comment sections with useless, grotesque content. As humans scroll past headlines about AI taking their jobs, confusing fantasy for reality, and contributing to cognitive decline, any consumer appeal the technology might have is turning to anguish. The data centers that power it have become increasingly unpopular, and politically radioactive.

To be online, many now admit, is to be endlessly manipulated and exploited. In December, Oxford University Press declared rage bait to be the word of the year, noting that use of the term had tripled over the previous 12 months. The lexical spike represented a heightened awareness that monetized social accounts churn out bad-faith takes and extremist content, automating this abusive behavior with generative AI, simply to profit off hostile engagement. Billionaire oligarchs have opened the floodgates to such inauthentic activity, conspiracy-mongering, and hate speech by rolling back moderation. In short, when you hang around online in 2026, you see little worth saving. Perhaps a decade ago, you felt that the glimmers of community and joy, of artistic and intellectual exchange, were enough to balance out the toxic junk. No longer.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

I’ve been reading a bit about the recent election in Serbia and some of the details are fascinating. A student-led coalition toppled the 12-year corrupt reign of “the increasingly authoritarian leader” Aleksandar Vučić in recent elections. But in order to ensure voters and allies that this wasn’t a grab for power on the part of the students, the students ruled themselves out.

Supporters had the votes, but they needed the losing side to stay. The strict rules were a promise: to those who had opposed running, that it would not turn the movement into a party; to voters, that the list was no party in disguise.

No student may run: anyone enrolled in 2024/25, or with studies on hold, is excluded. The drafters wanted no suggestion that students were building political careers. Former members of the ruling coalition’s 20 parties are barred, and so are former officials of parliamentary opposition parties. That leaves doctors, academics, artists, former athletes and activists. Ordinary members of opposition parties were not barred, but almost none with a party past. The list is led by Ilija Srdanović, a cardiologist and professor in Novi Sad.

The result is the Student List. From a pre-election piece in the NY Times: Something Astonishing Is Happening in My Country. The World Should Take Note.

The students’ list of 250 candidates is remarkable in itself. Comprising professors, scientists, doctors, workers, actors and activists, the candidates — most of whom had been unknown to the public — were selected through a lengthy sequence of scrutiny and interviews. University faculties proposed candidates, then reviewed nominees from across the country. After discussing the options, student assemblies made their choices. Thousands participated in this decision-making process — an extraordinary experiment in bringing direct democracy into mainstream politics.

The established opposition, meanwhile, has been pushed aside, with many of its parties backing the student list. The student movement has turned the election into something like a referendum on the regime, captured in its slogan: “Serbia or the mafia.” Many assumed the students were too inexperienced or naïve for electoral politics. But with some polls putting support for the student list above 40 percent, the race appears to be tight.

The students are coming for the machine. And, astonishingly, they might win.

Super interesting, right? US electoral politics don’t work the same as Serbia’s, but I wonder if there’s a way to inject some aspect of the Student List into US elections?

See also How to Give Away a Fortune, which resonates with the Serbian movement IMO.

Tags: politics · serbia

WASHINGTON (ANP/AFP) - De Amerikaanse president Donald Trump heeft de verkiezingen in Brazilië van afgelopen zondag "een schande" genoemd. Hij wilde niet zeggen of hij het presidentschap van Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva erkent.

Woensdag noemde Trump de verkiezingen in Brazilië nog "een vreemde verkiezing". Hij stelde ook dat hij zich niet wil bemoeien met de nasleep van die verkiezingen.

De naar de Verenigde Staten gevluchte oud-presidentskandidaat Flávio Bolsonaro noemde zichzelf woensdag de werkelijk gekozen president van Brazilië. Later zou Bolsonaro zijn bewoordingen hebben aangepast en noemde hij zichzelf niet meer de president, maar wel "de leider van Brazilië".

Nadat Bolsonaro de presidentsverkiezingen verloor van zijn tegenstander Lula, weigerde hij gehoor te geven aan een rechterlijk bevel om zijn paspoorten in te leveren en in het land te blijven. Er loopt in zijn land een onderzoek naar hem vanwege vermeende corruptie en witwaspraktijken.

De president van de Europese Centrale Bank kondigde donderdag aan in februari vervroegd terug te treden. De strijd om haar opvolging komt in een stroomversnelling, in een periode van stress over de Franse staatsschuld en zorgen over de Franse presidentsverkiezingen.